Thanksgiving

The yearly Turkey Trot. Every year Bryan Dempler, Tobi Whaley and I go on our Thanksgiving day ride before we sit down and feast for the evening. We’ve hit the same route for the last 3 years running, and I don’t think we should ever change it. It’s starting to feel like a tradition at this point. There’s strength in repetition, and it’s a fun challenge to try and shoot it differently every time.

With rains the days before and morning leading up to our launch, things were still pretty wet. Especially once we hit the not so dusty trail on our decent back into town. Every couple of feet we had to push out tacky clay that had begun to accumulate in our wheels and tight clearance points. We were all getting tired of having to find a new stick strong enough for the job, but after hopping a couple fences, dodging a few cows and b-lining across some fields, we finally made it back to the main road. Check out photos from other years HERE and we’ll see you next time.

I’m thankful for these two dudes. Every year, Toby, Bryan & I take the train back home for the holidays, and every year we do a little turkey trot around the outskirts of town. It’s never too long. Something quick, under 30, but there’s usually a fence to be hopped or cow paddy to dodge along the way. Midway through the ride we’ll pull off and take a moment to soak in the scenery. Usually that means pulling off at the nearest drainage ditch to catch some quick airs before we continue on our journey. There are a ton of spots like this peppered around town, some of which have transitions that are smoother than most skateparks I’ve been to.

At one point I saw a hawk chowing down on a rattlesnake so I hopped off my bike, dropped down to its level and started shooting photos. I army crawled closer and got within an arm’s length before the hawk started to flex and didn’t want anything to do with me any longer. I always forget how sick Toby’s Wheel Talk kit looks. We’re going to have to make a new one soon. Well, that’s it for this year. Check out more photos below, otherwise look forward to more next year.

Stepping things up a notch. The day after Thanksgiving Bryan Dempler and I rode twice as far as the day before. We started things off with a solid breakfast, picked up a 3 pack of tall cans and set out to explore a handful of places we’ve never been. One of which was this massive cement wall that was just banked enough to climb up and ride across. The only sketchy part was trying not to blow out at the bottom. After that we hopped back on the dusty cattle trail and watched the sun set over our hometown. Check out more photos below.

With our cameras packed, bikes in hand, Bryan Dempler & I hopped on the train heading home for the holidays. We’ve been next door neighbors since the 3rd grade, and make most trips home together. On our first day back in town we established our bearings by ventured outwards towards Uvas reservoir where we had drinks by the lake and shot a handful of photos. I ended up getting a pinch flat airing out of this bank but managed to ride the 6 or 7 miles home on the rim just fine. Check out more photos below, and keep your eyes peeled for shots from day two.